I'm already on my s***list for my insurance company for past claims, so I'm extremely cautious about making more claims.

I had a $250 deductable. The two claims I made are:

Water stains on the ceiling: Result ~$500 check from Insurance company to fix the ceiling. ~$4K to fix the chimney which was the source of the leak. Apparently insurance doesn't fix the source of the problem, just the results of the problem.

overflowed toilet: I had to replace the floor. The check from the insurance company was once again ~$500. Most quotes for the fix were in the $2K range. I ended up paying ~$900. That is because I negotiated lower rates because the contractor left the radiator pipe (I have steam heat) open thus rusting the light fightures and causing damage to the wallpaper. After all is said and done, he got the better end of that stick.

After all this, it came time to renew and my rates shot up $400 a year, a direct result of the claims.

This weekend there were high winds (in excess of 60 miles per hour I'm told). There are pieces of my roof all over the back yard. That's a problem i couldn't ignore any longer, so finally got someone out here to quote it.

One person suggested that I give my insurance company a call, but I'm scared of doing that.

When I wanted to replace my hot water heater, I called a lot of contractors, most didn't call back. I ended up with five appointments, and only one contractor showed up.

I called 5 contractors yesterday and ended up with four appointments. That's a good start.

The first contractor gave a bid of 7K to replace the roof on the back and front porch. Plus 'extra' to do some construction that needs to be done in conjunction w/ the roof.

if u r in an area where hails and winds are something common, you must must be aware of the fact that there will come a time when you will need some serious roof repairs or even roof replacement.You as a consumer have an important part in this type of project. So you should ask for written estimates from roofing contractors.Think about the complexity of your project.Time may be also an important factor in the amount of damage that your can handle.Water stains on ceiling may the cause of leaking of water pipes.It is due to improper roofing.